Doctor: What I didn’t know until I got skin cancer
As a practicing physician, my life revolves around caring for my patients, helping them stay healthy, educating them about diseases and picking up on the signs of health concerns that need to be addressed.
A few weeks ago, however, it became painfully obvious that I had missed the signs of my own major health issue.
To my surprise, I was diagnosed with skin cancer on my scalp. The diagnosis of basal cell cancer, and the fact that I ignored it for so long, have really made me pause to reflect on my own health habits and some common misconceptions about skin cancer.
For over a year, I thought I had an irregular patch of skin behind my left ear. It was covered by my hair, so it was easy to ignore. I watched this skin peel and scab. I thought it was eczema, which I have had for many years, put hydrocortisone didn’t help. I finally went to the dermatologist, much later than I should have considering my medical background, and I had a biopsy. Basal cell cancer. Another was found on my neck right after that.
I was bewildered. I thought I had been protecting myself from sun exposure so carefully. I spend most of my waking hours indoors at the hospital and still I wear sunscreen every day. I hardly have time for sunbathing and on those rare occasions when I’m in the sun for an extended time, I try to cover up.
As it turns out, my skin cancer has probably been brewing for decades, the result of genetics and basking in the sun many years ago. Damage from the sun’s UV rays is cumulative, increasing the risk of cancer over time. Just five blistering sunburns among 15- to 20-year-olds can increase the risk of melanoma by 80% and two other skin cancers, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, by 68%, according to research published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. So, I’m probably seeing effects of my early years at the beach now.
As a practicing physician, my life revolves around caring for my patients, helping them stay healthy, educating them about diseases and picking up on the signs of health concerns that need to be addressed. A few weeks ago, however, it became painfully obvious that I had missed the signs of my own major health issue.…